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I doubt that Dub. Cutting Taylor only frees up 2.5 mil but creates almost 7 mil of dead money. Taylor is still playing at the top of his game. I think he plays 2013 as a Steeler regardless of Lewis signing long term. jmo

How so?
Ike has 2 years left on a 4 year contract.
His signing bonus was 7.25 million.
2 years excelerated = 3.625 million = 2013 cap hit if cut.
He's due to make 6 million in salary if he stays.
Wouldn't it be 2,375,000 in dead $$$ if is cut?
O and I agree, Ike isn't going anywhere

Lewis did not announce some really big news on Thursday. Lewis did not give Steelers fans reason to believe he may be close to signing a new contract. Lewis did say whatever it wasn't, it was big.

It is no secret the Pittsburgh Steelers will attempt to compete for the services of Keenan Lewis in 2013, after having a great first season as a full-time starter in 2012. Lewis is an unrestricted free-agent this off-season.

More: Steelers Free Agency stream Steelers sign QB Sherman speaks on Lewis
While cap compliance is within reach, few felt confident the team would be able to seriously compete to re-sign Lewis. On Thursday through his Facebook account, he technically didn't give Steelers fans any reason to believe any different. However, it is what he did not say.

Good news, thank you lord, you always told me believe and keep faith and you will handle the rest. It's a secret, I'm not telling nobody what it is either, just know I am about to turn up.

Early projections toward Lewis' eventual asking-price have been anywhere from $35 to $50 million, and is expected to have many suitors when free-agency begins with the beginning of the league year at 4 p.m. ET March 12.

The team spent most of this week restructuring the contracts of Lawrence Timmons, Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown. LaMarr Woodley is expected to restructure his deal before the week is up, too. The team had to be compliant with the NFL salary cap before the deadline, with enough consideration for their restricted free agents and exclusive rights free agents.

We've seen this before, most recently with James Harrison who left a cryptic status update about signing with a team other than Pittsburgh, which turned out to be his interaction with dodgeball. Lewis made no mention of his football team, family or future; but he definitely seems grateful this morning.

The conclusion many immediately jumped to was a possible agreement being reached between Lewis and the Steelers. If this is the case, we will have to wait to find out. The top-ranked pass defense from 2012 would be expected to continue its excellence if Lewis returns to start opposite of Ike Taylor, with impressive showings from now third-year corners Cortez Allen and Curtis Brown, sometimes.

While we won't bother speaking for Mr. Lewis directly, we will definitely keep our eyes on news-tickers when the deadline hits. If Lewis truly has reached an agreement with the team, they will most likely announce it at the beginning of the free-agency period.

For now, Lewis will just have to keep his little secret, while all of Steeler Nation hopes he spills the beans. He could be speaking of something completely unrelated to football, although good luck convincing his fan-base otherwise.

The good: Lewis proved to be tough physically and mentally. Last summer, he tightened his grip on the starting job when he hurt his shoulder early in camp and put in a full practice two days later. In his first full season as a starter, Lewis was tested often, getting targeted 112 times (second-most in the league, according to Pro Football Focus). He continually held up and led the AFC with 23 passes broken up.

The bad: While Lewis has good coverage skills and can break on passes, he needs to become more opportunistic. He has one career interception, which is a reflection on his ball skills. Lewis has to become more disciplined, too. His eight penalties ranked third among AFC North cornerbacks.

The bottom line: Lewis likely ranks at the top of the Steelers' priority list. But he could draw interest elsewhere, including here in the division. New Browns defensive coordinator Ray Horton was the Steelers' secondary coach in Lewis' first two seasons in the NFL. The Steelers couldn't win a bidding war against a team like the Browns, who have tons of cap space. If the Steelers lose Lewis, they'll go with Ike Taylor and Cortez Allen as starters with Curtis Brown as the nickel.
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My guess is Lewis will remain a Steeler if we are in the ball park of what he is looking for in salary. The Steelers won't over pay to keep him though so its in Keenan's hands.
Obviously his agent will look to get Lewis the highest offer, as he gets a percentage of the deal.
Losing Lewis might change the draft picture on who we draft, with the age of Ike Taylor they then might look to draft a CB in the early rounds if not the first.
A deal for 5 years around 6.5 mill a yr . might be in the ball park, anymore than that and we'll have to cut even more players in order to sign him as it looks now.

I agree he is old and I agree he makes a lot of money. But I disagree with you about his decline. He was having a really good year before he got injured. He doesn't have a history of this.

Our team is much worse off without him than if we keep him.

It is strange how some see one thing and some see something totally different with the same images. I agree with BigRob on this one. The Steelers are better with Taylor than without. Anyone remember the second Cincinnati game? Besides, why not consider moving Ike to safety, a position of need for the Steelers?

What will the Steelers do w/o Heath? Seems TE would be a high draft or FA priority, or both run and pass game will be affected adversely. So, keeping some of the older yet effective players at a reasonable cost looks like a good approach.